Through The Year
by Lynnlee22
Summary: Phyllis and Billy's journey through the year - a collection of monthly themed one shots.
1. Chapter 1

**_"__Love is like war: easy to begin but very hard to stop." – H.L. Mencken _**

**_January_**

"Jack?! Jack, is that you?" Billy placed the phone to his ear as he eased the car off the icy road. "Jack?"

"Billy? Yeah, it's me. Can you hear me?" The sounds of the busy emergency nearly drowned out his own voice and he struggled to find a reasonably quiet area in which to move.

"Barely," Billy pressed his hand to his other ear in an attempt to drown out all other noise. "I think the weather is really messing up the cell towers or something. You're breaking up. I can only get every few words."

"J.T.," Jack said, as quickly as possible. "It's about J.T."

The feeling of dread immediately returned, a sickness in the pit of his stomach that had been there for months now seemed to be a bottomless chasm. "What about J.T., Jack? Did they find him? Where are you? Where's he?"

"They … hospital … an … car … been a … pretty bad."

"What?!" His heart pounded in his head, making it even more impossible to hear the garbled words. "I can't understand you. Did they find J.T.?"

"J.T. tried to …. and the car was …. But … hospital."

"Hospital?" In between the mangled conversation and broken phrases, that single words had been frighteningly clear. "Hospital?!" He said the word again, hoping he'd been wrong, hoping Jack would correct him.

"Memorial," Jack said, as loudly as possible. "I …. You … now."

Billy shook his head, having no idea what had been said, but being very certain of one thing. Something was happening at Memorial and he had to get there to find out what. "I'm on my way, Jack."

* * *

Jack sighed as he placed the phone back into his pocket.

"Were you able to talk to him?" Summer wiped the tears from her face as she stood up and walked over to the door. "Is he going to come?"

"He's on his way, but I don't think he has any idea what he's in for," Jack admitted.

"What do you mean?" Summer asked, clearly confused.

"The cell reception is awful. I guess because of the storm, so I'm not sure he understood any of what I said. I know he got a few words because he seemed to get something about J.T. and he understood that I was at Memorial, so he's on his way here, but he doesn't know …"

Summer shook her head, the reality now dawning on her. "He doesn't know he's coming here to see Mom."

"No, he doesn't." Jack took his seat beside the bed as he looked down at Phyllis' lifeless body. "But I know he still cares about her Summer. I know he does. You don't love somebody like he loved her and then just stop. Love like that doesn't just go away. Believe me. I know."

* * *

"Billy?" Sharon stood from her chair as she saw him rush into the waiting room. "I didn't expect to …" She stopped, realizing how insensitive the words might seem given the situation. "Jack must've called you."

"He did, but he … The cell reception wasn't great, so I don't really know what happened. What's going on. He said something about J.T. and a car. Did they find him? Is he here?" He watched as her entire face drained of color.

"You mean, you don't know?"

The familiar lump in his throat seemed to triple in size as he watched her ashen face stare him down. "Know what?"

She took a deep breath in and gestured to the row of chairs beside her. "Why don't you sit down for a minute. Umm … J.T. is in custody. They arrested him earlier after the accident."

"Accident?" The word seemed to stick in his throat as he said it. His mind immediately began to race with possibilities. "J.T. was in accident?"

"No. It was … He'd gotten into the garage at Victoria's house and he was in the backseat of the car and …"

He could feel his chest rising and falling, the anxiety causing the pressure to build. "Is Victoria okay? Is she …"

"Billy …"

Simultaneous relief and confusion rushed over him. "Vic." He threw his arms around her and let himself breathe for a moment. "I'm so glad you're okay. Sharon was just telling me about J.T. breaking into the garage and she said he was waiting for you in the car…"

She nodded. "Yeah, well, that's what we think since no one really …" Her eyes moved to Sharon's shaking head and she stopped. "What?" she whispered.

"He doesn't," Sharon said quietly. "He doesn't know yet."

"Oh," she whispered. "I … You don't …"

"What? What don't I know? I need to know what's going on here and somebody needs to tell me!" What was once fear and worry was quickly becoming annoyance. "So if you'll just quit talking in circles and …"

"I'll tell you."

Billy turned quickly towards the sound of his brother's voice. The look on his face was one he'd seen before, the deep worry lines in his forehead were something he recognized and also something that deeply worried him. "Jack …" The need for answers now seemed far more daunting, the reality of it, of what the answers might mean were reflected back at him in the somber eyes of his brother.

"Why don't you just come with me?" He reached for his hand and felt him pull back.

"Tell me what's going on, Jack. Just tell me."

Jack nodded. He understood the need to know. He'd wanted details too. "We think J.T. was waiting in the backseat of Victoria's car. He was planning to force her drive somewhere or .. do something … We're not exactly sure what, but …"

"But Victoria's here, so …" He shook his head. None of this made any sense.

"Because Victoria wasn't driving the car." Jack could still see confusion on his brother's face and then, as if watching a kind of silent movie, he watched as the plot played out behind his eyes, as he ran down the cast of characters and slowly eliminated each one.

Billy looked up at him, his dark eyes now somber as well. "Phyllis?" The slight quiver in his voice wasn't missed as he drew in another breath. "It's Phyllis isn't it?"

"Yeah," Jack said as he clasped his hand on his shoulder. "She was taking Victoria's car because they thought J.T. might be following Victoria so she was going to try to lead him to somewhere more public and the police were going to meet them there but …" He could see the worry in his eyes. "We think he must have fought her for control of the wheel or something because she went off the road and …"

He was fighting for control too now as he tried to speak. "Is she alright? I mean, she'll be okay though, right?"

"They can't wake her up, Billy. That's why I called you. The last time she was hurt, you were the one that brought her back. Can you can do it again?"


	2. Chapter 2

_Surely as cometh the Winter, I know_

_There are Spring Violets under the snow._

\- _R. H. Newell_

**February**

"I can take those and switch them out for you, Mr. Abbott." She reached for the arrangement of flowers in his hand and caught the look on his face. "Don't worry," she said with kindness in her voice. "Your brother stopped by a bit earlier. He's in with her now. I never leave her alone, just like you requested."

"Thank you, Maura." He felt his shoulders drop with relief. "I appreciate you being so attentive to her. I hate leaving her, but I have to take care of things and I keep telling myself that she'd understand, but …"

"I'm sure she would." She gently touched his arm as she watched him look into the room. "I don't suppose there's been any change?"

"No. She's still resting, very peaceful."

He tried to smile, to be grateful that at least she didn't appear to be in any pain. "That's good at least," he nodded. "She's getting stronger." He took another deep breath before turning to face Maura again. "Have the doctors been back?"

"Not yet. I saw them earlier, but I think they were waiting for you. I know they want to talk to you today. They got Ms. Newman's number earlier."

"I need to call Summer and let her know what's going on. It doesn't matter what these doctors say or what they think. I don't care what their stupid tests say or what research indicates, I know she can come back and I know she will. I just have to give her more time."

* * *

"Billy?" Jack stood to his feet as he heard the door open. "Maura said you had something at the kid's school today."

"Yeah, I did." He met Jack's gaze for a moment before turning his attention back to her and moving towards the other the bed. He took the seat he'd become accustomed to and reached for her hand. "Hey," he whispered. "I'm back. I told you I'd be quick. Thanks for waiting on me." He glanced up again to see Jack staring at him. "What? What is it?"

"I …" He watched him as he slowly made his way around the bed and took a seat on the windowsill behind him. "Billy, I'm worried about you. This is … I mean …" He sighed. This was a position he'd been in before. He knew what it felt like to hope against every odd that the woman you loved could and would come back. And for him, it had happened. But now … How many times could one person get a miracle? "It's been over a month now."

"Really? I didn't know that Jack. Thanks for catching me up."

"You know what I mean, Billy. I know you want to believe that she's coming back. I know how that feels. I know how much it takes out of you to sit by a bed day after day, week after week and talk to someone that doesn't talk back."

"It doesn't matter if she talks back. I know she hears me, Jack and she's not the one that needs to talk anyway. I've got so much I need to say to her. With everything I've done, I'll never be able to tell her all the different ways that I'm sorry and …"

"You keep saying that but you're still not explaining exactly what it is that was so horrible and …"

"And I'm not going to. It's not important. The only thing that's important to me is that she wake up. She has to wake up."

"Mr. Abbott." Maura opened the door slowly and stepped inside with the vase full of red roses. "Here are the flowers."

"Thanks," Billy said with a smile. He stood and took the vase from her hands before leaning over the bed and letting them come close to her face. "I got these for you," he said quietly. "I know you can't see them but maybe you can smell them." He turned to place them on the table bedside table. "And you can get that look off you face, Jack."

"I'm not trying to give you a hard time. I'm really not. I just want you to keep your expectations realistic. You've heard the doctors. They all told you the same thing."

"They all told you the same thing too, didn't they? And she came back. She woke up."

"Okay. Alright. Why don't you at least come over and have dinner with at the house tonight. You don't need to be sitting here on Valentine's Day. Traci and Ashley are coming over for dinner and if Dina's feeling well enough she'll be there too."

"Thanks, Jack but I think I'll stay here. It's where I need to be. It's where I want to be."

Jack sighed. "I get that you want to be here for her. I really do. I'm the one that called you in the first place. I knew that you would want to be here for her, but I don't think it's fair for you to give up your entire life to sit beside this bed and …"

"She is my life, Jack. We made mistakes. We hurt each other and we set the whole damn thing on fire, but I never stopped loving her. I couldn't. And even when I tried to move on, I was still so angry with her because I couldn't stop the feelings. And then when I walked in this hospital and I saw her laying in this bed and I realized there was a chance I could lose her … not just in my life but for good, it just … it all got real."

"No one wants you to lose her Billy, but you don't have to lose you either."

"I promised her I'd be here. I promised her I'd stay right by her side and I'm not leaving her, especially on a night like tonight. It's Valentine's Day. It's about being with the person you love and that's what I'm going to do even if all I can do is sit here and hold her hand."

* * *

He laughed a bit as he wiped his mouth and grimaced at the grease that streaked the napkin. "You know I'm pulling out all the stops for you here." He smoothed the hair back behind her ear and leaned down to kiss her cheek. "I got your favorite chili cheese burger and fries. I know it's not fancy, but you'd pick it over all those fancy restaurants, wouldn't you? Not a lot of people know that about you, but I do."

"I got your favorite songs on the playlist over there and I brought your favorite robe. You always looked so good in that color, but then again you look good in anything." He watched her intently, hoping she'd do something, anything to show him she could hear him and yet she remained perfectly still.

"And I got one more thing," he said softly, his voice shaking a bit. "It's the one thing I can think of that might bring you back, the one thing I've still got that I hope will be enough to wake you up. I need you to listen to me, Phyllis. These doctors, they don't believe that you're going to wake up. They want to let you go. But I can't do that. I've got a private facility set up. I'm going to move you there, but Summer and Jack think I'm just dreaming. They think maybe you've already got your miracle and maybe I'm just hoping because I'm feeling so guilty over everything I put us both through … And honestly … I don't know anymore. I keep thinking that you're gonna open your eyes. I keep praying that you're going to come back to me, but every day that you don't, it breaks my heart just a little more. The only thing that ever broke my heart more than this was …"

He stood up and reached into his jacket. "When you gave me these back." He watched as the five golden rings slid down the golden chain. "I wanted to put them back on your fingers, but they have to do so many tests on you that they don't want you wearing them on your hands, so it'll have to do as a necklace for now, but that's okay because that means you can keep them right next to your heart."

His hands shook as he reached behind her neck and gently brushed her hair away so that the rings could lay flat against her chest. "When you come back to me, I'll put them back where they belong, okay?" He waited yet again, hoping she'd answer. His head dropped down to rest on her chest, the sound of her heartbeat the only reassurance he could find. For a moment, he was certain it was simply his sheer will dreaming it into existence and then he felt it. It was something he'd felt a million times and still something he'd feared he'd never feel again.

Her grip was weak as she tried to lace her fingers with his, but he could see the intention and his breath caught in his throat as he stared at what could only be described as a miracle. "Phyllis," he managed, his throat already closed with emotion. "Can you … Are you …."

With slow and deliberate effort, her eyes finally opened. "B … Bi …"

"Yeah," he smiled. "I'm here. It's me, it's Billy. You're okay. It's all going to be okay now." He could see her relax against the pillow, her mouth no longer fighting to speak. She let her body rest in his arms and they both knew that, at least for tonight, no words were needed.


End file.
